INDIANS DROWN LAMBUTH 24-6

On a miserable night for football, Southeast Missouri State University's Indians had quite a bit of fun Saturday.

Intent on wiping out the memory of last year's disappointing 3-8 record, the Indians shook off two rain and lightning delays totaling an hour and 15 minutes to turn in a strong season-opening performance.

The Indians' bid for their first shutout since 1994 fell short, but they still turned in a strong performance during a 24-6 victory over NAIA foe Lambuth.

A crowd of 4,273 was on hand to witness the season opener, although because of heavy rain throughout much of the game only a few hundred fans were on hand at the end.

Two rain delays turned the game into a four-hour plus affair. The longest delay was caused by a lightning storm with 1:40 left in the first quarter. The teams headed to the locker rooms and did not resume play until 55 minutes later.

In the first half, Southeast displayed its much improved offensive speed by ripping off two runs that were longer than any running play the Indians had all of last season.

Oklahoma transfer David Keoleosho had a 38-yard run in the first quarter that led to Eric Warren's 32-yard field goal which gave the Indians a 3-0 lead.

In the second period, Riki Smith ripped off a 57-yard run that set up Broderick Benson's 1-yard touchdown run to give Southeast a 9-0 lead.

Last season, when the Indians struggled offensively, Southeast's longest run from scrimmage was only 36 yards.

The Indians tacked on one more first-half touchdown on a 1-yard run by Britt Mirgaux just 48 seconds left before the intermission. Dante Bryant hauled in a conversion pass from Justin Martini to make up for an earlier missed point by Warren. The Indians carried a 17-0 lead into the lockerroom.

Martini, last year's starting quarterback, who entered this season as the backup to Southern Mississippi transfer Heath Graham, actually directed all three of Southeast's first-half scoring drives even though he did not start the game.

The Indians used much of their second unit on various series during the opening half.

The Indians' highly touted defense totally dominated Lambuth in the first half, limiting the Eagles to only 31 yards of offense.

Meanwhile, Southeast's offense used the big play to pile up 254 yards, including 187 yards on the ground. Smith had a big first half with 94 yards on 12 carries while Keleosho added 72 yards on just four attempts.

The Indians grabbed a 24-0 lead early in the third quarter as Graham hit tight end Mitch Fryer with an 18-yard touchdown pass. Warren tacked on the extra point.

With the field muddy from the heavy rain, the Indians were pretty much content to play conservative the rest of the way in order to take time off the clock.

The Eagles finally got on the scoreboard with 4:24 left in the game as quarterback Billy Joe Spann capped a 61-yard drive with 1-yard sneak.